Lauri’s Comments (group member since Jan 23, 2016)

Lauri’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

Thanksgiving is going to be totally crazy. We're going to make everything & take it all over to my in-laws' house. Not sure how many people will show up... THEN I'll be cooking again all day Friday for my father-in-law's birthday party. He'll be turning 90 on Nov. 30th. We purposely set up a luncheon at a Chinese restaurant so that no one will have to cook or clean up. Then Mom announces her desire to have an "after party" at their house. So I'm cooking again! *Sigh*
We're going to have our own Thanksgiving on Sunday night because my son is off that day. So, you guessed it -- more cooking. Yaaaaayyyy!!

Checking in here! I'm almost done with Caraval for the bad books list, Hex Marks the Spot & So Faux, So Good for my cozy mystery bingo challenge which I will definitely finish this week. Fall of Giants is going incredibly slowly -- don't know if I'll finish after all. It's good, but the size prohibits me taking it out of the house. It's like the old phone books used to be! Still working on Ghost Story & The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo...

DQ Day 2: Chapters 6-11

6. It's taken me a bit to understand what's happening in town currently and in the past. Has anyone else struggled or have you caught on well? Do you think the author has set the scene well, or are there improvements/other ways you think would work better?
I think that I pretty much get it. The author drops little snippets of extra stuff every so often which is disconcerting. I have trouble when they switch POV between Ellery & Malcolm. I always have to look back to the beginning of the chapter...

7. We meet Declan Kelly in this chapter, Malcolm's brother. What are your impressions on him? Do you think he murdered Lacey? Or has anything to do with Sarah's (Sadie's twin) disappearance? The hit and run of Mr Bowman or the threats around town? If not, who do you think is responsible for all of them, or any of them? Do you have any theories so far on the connections of the occurrences? I feel like there's so many suspects and Sadie is definitely hiding something.
I think Declan is just a convenient scapegoat, a red herring thrown our way to look guilty. Sadie must know more than she's telling & don't forget about Nana! My money's on Vance.

8. The Homecoming Court announcements: Did it surprise you that Ellery was nominated for Queen? Why do you think she was 'chosen' as a potential Queen? It's kind of ominous to the Homecoming, isn't it? I feel like Homecoming is where things will go crazy. What do you guys predict will happen?
The whole idea of having events at Murderland just floors me. What are the school officials thinking! I think Ellery was chosen as a Homecoming princess because she's Sadie's daughter. All the clues have been very elaborate so far. I definitely don't think it's a high school student.

9. As an Australian, I don't understand the craze around Homecoming. We have Formals which is similar to Homecoming but no one is chosen as a Queen or King. Did you go to a Homecoming in High School, or something similar? What was it like? I went without a boy (too cool for boys back then) and went with one of my girl friends. We had a blast! My aunty actually helped me design my dress and made it for me. It was actually my first introduction on how to dress feminine and like it!
I never got into Homecoming & never even went to my proms. Although I did the cheerleader thing, I never even got into the football games! I think small towns put more emphasis on things like homecoming in general.

10. It seems like Daisy has been through a lot... Her breakdown in the car and shutting herself in her room. What do you think is going on with her? Do you think she's finally dealing with Lacey's death or do you think something else is going on with her?
Not really sure about Daisy. It seems like a fullblown psychotic break to me. I wonder if she could possibly be involved?

DQs Day 1
Chapters 1 to 5

1.) Why are you participating in this BOM? Just for extra Tower Teams points? Because you were interested in/going to read this book anyway? Have you read other words by this author?
Totally for Tower Team points! It seems like a quick read & it's holding my interest so far...

2.) I'm loving Ellery's true crime obsession. Pre-child I used to have the Discovery ID channel (true crime, all the time) on a lot as background. Though I'm thinking this is foreshadowing of not good things to come. What do you think? Have you read any of the crime books mentioned so far?
I have In Cold Blood on my TBR. It's supposed to be really good. I need to be in the mood for that type of book or movie, though. I definitely would not have been interested when I was Ellery's age. I don't think anything good can possibly come from an interest of that nature -- especially not in that town.

3.) Characters, first impressions. What do you think of Ellery & Ezra? Sadie, and the fact they refer to her by her first name and not 'Mom'? Malcom & Katrin? Familial relations seems to be a central theme to this book and specifically sibling relationships. There's been several twin references and references to other sibling relationships (Declan, Daisy, Lacey's siblings, etc). Do you think these types of ties will play into the main story line?
Mainly I feel confused about them thus far. I need more back story & character development. None of the relationships seem healthy to me.

4.) This book is set in a small town and that type of atmosphere has been highlighted strongly during the set-up of the story. However, it isn't really the bucolic small town setting being highlighted by the author, but the everyone is in everyone else's business and will judge the crap out of your entire family if given the chance. What do you think of small towns? Would you like to live in one (or do you already)?
I live in a very small town -- and worse yet on an island. You can't go to the store without running into someone you know. I totally get that part! Also here (Oahu, Hawaii) it never really matters what you do with your life, it always comes back to what high school you graduated from, what year & do you know my cousin so-and-so.... Not as many busybodies as is portrayed in this book, but still.

5.) I loved the epitaph of Mr. Bowman's tombstone.
"Tell me and I forget
Teach me and I may remember
Involve me and I learn"
What did you think about it? Do you agree with the statement? And why do you think there has been such a focus on a seemingly sad, but random hit and run?
I totally loved that saying! I'm thinking that he probably said it all the time & truly believed in the philosophy. My best guess is that he knew something & they shut him up permanently...

Onward!!

Completion Post!
Death Perception by Victoria Laurie
Finished 11/17/19
Page count: 314
Works for yellow cover OR I found DELUXE for our mini challenge on page 266!! "-just please ring up the Super Deluxe wash, okay?"



Could one of our dear captains please add it to our spreadsheet for me? Feel free to use it wherever you see fit. Thanks so much!

Completion post!
Shadow Child by Rahna Reiko Rizzuto
Finished 11/14/19
Page count: 343
5 star read for me!
Works for anything goes OR for the following BINGO words: Card #2 PRINCE pg. 242 "There aren't a lot of Prince Charmings in her family tree."
Card #2 WATER pg. 254 "When you jump, there is air, first, before the water."
Card #1 ARTIST "If you put me a sketch artist, I'm sure we can re-create him."



Dear Captains, could someone please add this one to our spreadsheet for me? Thanks very much!

Completion Post!
Drizzled with Death by Jessie Crockett
Finished 11/12/19
Page count: 298
Works for contemporary or also has bingo words from card #1 POWER on pg. 165 & CAKE on pg. 66 AND from card #3 ALL -YOU-CAN-EAT on pg. 6!! Sentences available upon request...
Please use whatever you feel will help us most



Dear captains, could you please add this to our spreadsheet for me? Thanks so much!

Completion Post!
Getting Old is Criminal by Rita Lakin
Finished 11/11/19
Page count: 384
Works for contemporary OR I found the following words from BINGO card #1: Diamond on page 110, Champagne on page 2, and Extravagant on page 76. Please use whichever works best for our team. Also I have the sentences for each word if you need them. Please let me know...
Dear Captains, could someone please add this to out spreadsheet for me? Thank you!

It really is awesome, Chava. Before the mental hospital, I worked at a preschool for 12 years. We saw so many foster children and adoptees from foreign countries just struggling to "keep up" with the other children. It's always so heartwarming to see a success story. Some children are not always so fortunate to find a loving, nurturing home...

I'm still having a blast here! Sorry if I'm all over the place. I was planning to read Caraval and The Girl With All the Gifts off the bad books list. Although 'Gifts' can give us a Sin Bingo....
I'm still working on Ghost Story, The Alienist, Death Perception, Drizzled with Death and Shadow Child. I plan to read both books of the month, too. Hopefully I'll settle down at some point, but I doubt it!!

Completion Post!
Wilder Girls by Rory Power
Finished 11/6/19
Page count: 353
October BOTM
I can't do a link to save my life, but my msgs are on the BOTM thread: #305, 306, 315, 323 & 324...
It can cover young adult, green cover & dystopian so please put it anywhere you see fit.

Could our dear captains add this one to the spreadsheet for me? Thank you!

DQ Day 5 Chapter 20 to the end

20- Early in chapter 29, Hetty thinks to herself, “For a year and a half we’ve been as safe as we could ask for. The fence, regular supplies. Welch and the Headmistress to hold us together. A year and a half, and in a week I’ve torn it apart.” Do you agree? Do you think the events at the end are Hetty’s fault?
A bad ending was inevitable. If it wasn't Hetty, it would've been someone else. Maybe Welch would've cracked on her own...

21- The chaos of chapter 20 is nuts. A bear, poison, evil people who think they have a better right to life than the others. The thing I found most disturbing in this part was that the extra girls, the remaining girls, the ones we know almost nothing about, seemed truly extra to the story. I felt nothing for them, and that bothered me. How did you all feel about this chaotic part of the book; the taking of Reese, the poison room, etc.?
It was totally crazy!! This was the most exciting part of the entire book! I agree that the other girls were almost erroneous to the story. We only heard about them peripherally. It would've been better to have spent more time on character development -- at least for a few more girls. We would have had a bit more empathy for them all. The bear was scary as was finding out about the medical testing & the total disregard for human life.

22- The reveal of the cause of the Tox, (view spoiler) was a good story point, I thought. Would you have liked to get more info on this? Did you have any inkling that this was the cause, or what did you think it was? Do you think that the CDC (or whoever found this stuff) released it on the island, or was it found there in the girls?
I definitely would have liked more background on the Tox. It was so random (and improbable!) the way everybody had all these different symptoms... I'm guessing that the island already had a strain of the Tox because of the crabs & the irises. Maybe the CDC developed & accelerated it to try on the poor girls.

23- What happens next? Do they reach the mainland? Does Byatt recover, or is her essence gone? Why? Will there be a sequel, and will you read it if there is?
I think Byatt will recover, but will never be the same. She is too good of a person to be killed off. There will be a sequel for sure & I will probably read it at some point.

DQ Day 4 Chapters 14-19

16. I felt so bad for Reese to be able to see her father again and so different. Mr. Harker changed in ways none of the girls have. Why do you think the Tox is more aggressive with men? Is it just hormones or something else? Was Reese’s reaction to Hetty killing her father a normal reaction? Do you think Reese has lost hope now?
They've already mentioned hormones as some kind of factor in the Tox. Headmistress was of a certain age -- not affected as badly. Welch was on birth control, again with the hormones. All the young girls seemed to run the gamut with horrible symptoms! So what should we surmise would happen to males with all their testosterone? Poor Teddy! I don't think we could say there was a normal reaction for anyone to have in this case about someone killing your father. He was obviously gone at that point & would've killed both girls. Look at the killer deer, too. So weird & spooky! I'm not sure Reese has any hope left at all. I'm hoping that she'll be nice to Hetty. She really needs some support about now.

17. Byatt’s section was pretty intense. This is the first time that we see the Tox attacking someone and how horrific it is. By the end she seems pretty resigned and ready to die when Paretta tells her that they are evacuating and there will be no more help for Raxter. Do you think Byatt understood that she was condemned everyone to death by breaking quarantine?
I believe Byatt was just reaching out for human compassion and warmth with Teddy. She would never have done it if she fully knew the consequence.

18. Welch and the Headmistress are really upset about quarantine being broken. Do you believe they know who did it? What do you think about Welch telling the truth to the Boat Shift girls on the dock before she kills herself? Do they believe her or are they just too overwhelmed to really process everything?
Headmistress and Welch probably have a pretty good idea what's going on. Much more so than any of the girls. They also have a terrible burden to keep them all as safe as can be expected under the circumstances. When Welch saw that canister and no food, she just gave up. Luckily she didn't kill everyone before killing herself. I totally think Welch was telling the Boat Shift girls the truth. Why else would she have killed herself?

19. Hetty was right when she said Welch held everything and everyone together (paraphrasing). The first night she is gone things start to fall apart. Hetty not locking the gate when they got back. Gun Shift girls falling asleep on duty. Both reasons caused Lindsey to die. Do you think Hetty will step up to lead to thk e girls to make sure things do not dissolve any further into chaos or let her guilt of not locking the gate overwhelm her?
I'm sincerely hoping that Hetty will save the day -- or, failing that, at least prolong the inevitable. I smell a sequel!

Day 3 DQs - Hetty (Ch 9) - 13

11. After all the tension in the beginning between Hetty and Reese, and now that they only have each other without Byatt as the middleman, they admit their true feelings toward one another. I felt like we didn't get much of a buildup to it so did you feel the chemistry between them? Did you think this turn in their relationship was believable? Forced? Necessary, or something to give the reader hope?
I was rather surprised by this turn of events. They had put Reese out there as rather unfeeling and cold. I saw Hetty and Byatt as probable partners.

12. I didn't stop to consider how everyone's symptoms were so varied until Byatt started listing them for Teddy. Why do you think it reacted so differently with everyone it infected?
Is it really the same disease manifesting in so many different ways? It seems improbable to me. At the very least, there should be at least one common denominator-- like fever or blisters or fainting... Does that make sense?

13. We learned a lot more about Byatt which made me rethink the previous interactions she had with her friends. Did Hetty and Reese really know the real Byatt? And is Byatt reliable as a narrator knowing that she's a compulsive liar?
I was surprised to hear that Byatt was a compulsive liar! She seemed so even tempered & a great mediator. Everything is turned upside down now!

14. Byatt manipulated poor Teddy into removing his mask and kissing him. Why do you think she did this? To infect him, just because she could, or because she really believed it only affected girls (though come on, Mr. Harker!)?
I'm not sure why she did that! A rush of power? Just because she could? To feel normal again?

15. When Mona told Byatt that "They'll ruin it," who do you think she was referring to and what do you think she meant by it? Mona then asks if Byatt would keep the disfigurements caused by the Tox even if there was a cure. What did you make of this? Why do you think they would want to keep them?
I don't really know what Mona meant by that statement! At this point, I'm wondering if there's some kind of super power they may be gaining through all this. Like if this doesn't kill you, you'll be able to read minds or fly or something...

Completion Post!
Sentenced to Death by Lorna Barrett
Finished 11/4/19
Page count: 327 pages
Will work for contemporary. Not too sure where it would fit in to our mini challenge. I am honestly confused with this one... Please put it wherever you think it fits best!



could someone please add it to our spreadsheet for me?
Thank you kindly!

This week I plan to work on Fall of Giants (I'm 100 pages in!), finish Wilder Girls, finish Sentenced to Death which I'm reading for Cozy Mystery Party Bingo, keep plugging away at The Alienist and Ghost Story and Sorcery of Thorns and A Prayer for the Damned. Maybe it will even be a 3-book-week for me! I will also take a look at the bad books list...

So.... If I finish Wilder Girls & Gideon the Ninth in the next 2 weeks, we still get the extra points?

We don't have daylight savings in Hawaii at all. I'm totally confused by the whole thing! I thought it had just started in October! The only thing I care about (besides our book deadline) is what time the newest episode of the Walking Dead comes on!!

Any other fans here?

Suzanne wrote: "I went to put it on there and Erin was already doing it - she's a speedy one! =)

I liked that series - I really love Oberon."

Me too! He's my favorite! Kevin Hearne must be a really fun guy!

Completion Post!

Hexed by Kevin Hearne
Finished 11/2/19
Page count: 296
Can work for either yellow or brown cover (I think it's pretty much 50-50 of each) or contemporary & for the Wrath mini it fits #78 Bladed weapon on cover - it's his sword
Please use it wherever you think it works best. I am loving this series!



Could one of our lovely captains or teammies please add it to our spreadsheet for me?
Thank you so much!